tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43875978874908612612024-03-07T10:25:24.560+00:00Stitchin' Bintsor.. "Haven't you finished that yet?!" A knitting / sewing circlepeahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.comBlogger438125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-81316899333003848782023-12-21T16:10:00.002+00:002024-01-08T10:09:07.298+00:00Spellcaster socks - finishedWhen Pantone announced the colour of the year for 2024, I realised that I had to get a wiggle on and finish these socks before Viva Magenta stopped being the colour of the year.I love the colour and the pattern. The problems have been distractions by other projects and a new craft and the fact that spinning a 3-ply yarn by spindle took a long time. (A habit such as #spin15adaypeahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-57417504684136293102023-10-22T17:15:00.001+01:002023-10-22T17:15:37.517+01:00West of House, a cross stitch pattern by Clue of the Broken Needle I wasn't able to share my progress with this because I made it for my partner's birthday. He now has it, so I'm free to tell you all about it.Here's the finished project in daylight (above) and in the dark (below)If the location 'West of House' and the hidden warning about being eaten by a grue mean nothing to you, this is all from a text adventure game called Zork from 1977. The peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-8061028044896391132023-10-09T10:36:00.003+01:002023-10-09T10:40:47.461+01:00Leaf Cravat by Teva Durham in handspun yarn This can be made to wrap once or twice around the neck and worn tied or untied.This is quite popular with handspinners and there are some examples here.I have some yarn that I spun for socks. The details of the fibre are lost to time but I think it's a wool/silk mix. I spun the singles finely and made a three-ply, aiming for sock-weight but it's probably closer to DK and this is probably peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-7499736697659634302023-08-04T22:17:00.000+01:002023-08-04T22:17:03.037+01:00Spellcaster Socks - a milestoneAt the start of the year I was really inspired by the colour of the year, viva magenta, and also by the Spellcaster Socks by Wyvern Knits, a pattern that allows you to "Embrace spell casting whilst playing with the chaos and magic of the dice". Yes, you throw a die to determine various pattern choices, so no two pairs of Spellcaster socks will be the same. I decided to spin the yarn. I peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-30359030537290518102023-02-27T22:56:00.003+00:002023-03-05T09:37:57.248+00:00Remedial work to the handspun BBC Micro jumper A while ago I finished this project, You may think the neck looks a little odd or a little wide. It certainly felt that way to me. The truth is that I ran out of yarn with maybe a a few rounds left to go. I'd used all of the John Arbon fibre and didn't think it worth ordering another 100g just for that tiny bit of extra yarn.I haven't worn the jumper much, and I think that's because Ipeahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-11442197330327821432022-12-04T22:18:00.001+00:002022-12-04T22:18:13.406+00:00Finished handspun project, Mango and Family Bottle Sock by Vivienne MorganI'm a recent convert to Soda Stream. I was buying big bottles of fizzy water regularly but felt that I was creating plastic waste. I like to take one of these bottles walking with me, but the bottles get scuffed while rattling around in the rucksack.That's where Vivienne Morgan's bottle sock comes in! It's like a sock without a heel. She has three bottle sock patterns to choose from. peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-10883092578530188342022-07-12T15:04:00.003+01:002022-07-12T15:19:23.568+01:00Converting an Ashford Traditional from single-drive to double-drive Almost ten years ago to the day, I published this blog post in which I said that I'd converted my Traddy from single-drive to double. I said that I would publish instructions. If I ever did so, I can't find them now.I won't go into the whys and wherefores here, only the how. Suffice to say that I did this ten years ago and have been using this wheel for almost all spinning since, and I way peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-10430634500631048702022-03-20T10:42:00.002+00:002022-03-20T10:42:30.557+00:00Finished raglan jumper, designed by Knitwear Designer for the BBC MicroOn another blog I wrote about using Kendall Down's Knitwear Designer on a BBC micro to generate a knitting pattern.That was November 2020. I'm not a fast knitter. I tend to just knit a few rows each day rather than spending hours at a time on it. Plus I spun the yarn for this project. Here it is done. I don't have a record of the exact measurements I fed into the program, but the fit ispeahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-4638220238828371062021-08-21T17:26:00.002+01:002021-08-21T17:26:29.718+01:00Guest post - Lorna Reid : My Lockdown Marathon Just before the first lockdown I had taught myself to make the crocheted Mitred Granny Square. I thought it looked really nice and I enjoyed making them. When we went officially into Lockdown, I came up with the bright idea of making one of these squares for each day of Lockdown. I would them make them into baby car seat blankets and give them to charity. Little did peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-8871455137571210102021-04-30T10:45:00.001+01:002021-04-30T10:45:54.571+01:00Split-personality jumper update This is looking very good. Making a 4-ply yarn has given a very round and even yarn with a good thickness. Previous post about the spinning experiments here.The software produced a pattern for a raglan jumper knit in pieces. This is the back, starting at the waist. It seems a little small but it'll probably block out to the right size, the lace / rib pattern is extremely stretchy.peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-21671840651124364062021-03-27T22:34:00.001+00:002021-03-27T22:34:13.945+00:00Knitwear Designer for the BBC Micro, project part 2This is a split-personality project. Part 1, in which I produced the pattern using a BBC micro is on my newstuffforoldstuff blog.I'm continuing here because this is now a spin/knit project.My goal was to reproduce the pink jumper I pictured in part 1. I went for Devonia from John Arbon, which wasn't as pink as I really wanted. Below are swatches, first on its own, and then with a ply peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-91901275296579259092021-02-10T16:04:00.000+00:002021-02-10T16:04:47.432+00:00Finished handspun Earth Mama legwarmers This project started life when an inventive and generous person returned a drum carder using packing that she'd made from bags filled with the most beautiful Shetland fleece. Of course I treated this as a gift, and a very welcome one.Those amazing and long locks are really from a Shetland sheep raised in the very north of Scotland. The prettiest of the flock, she is nicknamed Mrs White peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-78781814550151343562020-12-13T11:46:00.000+00:002020-12-13T11:46:02.932+00:00Finished Fulton ShrugThe pattern is mad and I love it - Fulton Shrug from the great book Unexpected Cables.Yarn is not handspun but Norfolk Horn sourced and millspun by my friend Jenn at fibreworkshop.co.uk and then dyed for me by Freyalyn. More details about all of that in the previous post.It has taken a long time. The cables added to the time but kept it more interesting than plain knitting. I got into a peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-76107048599195355162020-10-30T13:30:00.001+00:002020-10-30T13:30:22.542+00:00WIP: Fulton Shrug in Norfolk Horn yarn My current project isn't handspun <gasp> but it is very special yarn.The yarn comes from the lovely Jenn at https://fibreworkshop.co.uk who sourced the Norfolk Horn fleeces and had them processed and mill spun. I bought this undyed, but Jenn does also dye her yarn using natural dyes, either home-grown or with a local connection.I considered dying the skeins myself but I peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-77173008100803207032019-11-12T00:44:00.000+00:002019-11-30T11:03:58.957+00:00Amazing Alaska hat pattern with handspun yarnWhen I first saw it I knew I had to make one. The pattern is Alaska by Camille Descoteaux
This pattern looks fabulous in a colour-changing yarn paired with a dark solid colour for the silhouette trees. More comments about the pattern after the knitting pictures.
Usually I spin especially for a particular project, but this time I had the perfect yarn. It’s a Freyalyn long gradient I boughtpeahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-64928425473767292302019-06-09T13:02:00.001+01:002019-06-09T13:02:56.419+01:00Finished handspun Hafgufa mitts
Mostly photos this time. This project started as some alpaca fleece that I've had for some time; some really beautiful fleece in an inky black, and some equally beautiful locks in a creamy white. I carded batts from both and also mixed the two for a third colour, mid-grey.
It spun nicely, I went for a 3-ply but it was still pretty thin. That was almost perfect. I used 2mm needles but still had peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-61164428934226472052019-02-16T11:12:00.000+00:002019-02-16T11:18:18.403+00:00Makers' Month, The Forum, Norwich, 9 to 24 Feb 2019The Makers' Month at The Forum, Norwich, is now a well-established event which gives makers the chance to exhibit their work and demonstrate their skills, and gives people the opportunity to try a variety of crafts. There are different activities each day, here is a programme.
Seen here are members of the five Norfolk guilds of Spinners Weavers and Dyers.
The star of the show this year is a peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-49929620334515635032019-01-31T10:51:00.002+00:002019-01-31T10:51:54.996+00:00Spinning alpaca fleeceI've been spinning like a demon this week, partly to use some alpaca that has been in the stash for such a long time that it's a miracle that it hasn't become home to something nasty. And partly so that I can have a knitting project started in time for a trip.
For speed I decided to run it all through the drum carder and either make that into punis or put handfuls over my peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-26410877929592455122018-11-11T15:02:00.000+00:002018-11-11T15:02:39.344+00:00Spindle spinning silk hankies / mawatasOne of my many purchases from Wonderwool Wales 2018 was this beautiful silk from Sealy MacWheely. I only bought a small pack but it goes a long way, Sealy had a scarf on display made from one of these packs.
The silk is in the form of hankies / mawata. You separate the thin layers (each made from a single cocoon, which in turn is in theory a single strand), poke a hole in the middle of the peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-50988949554210572952018-11-10T15:20:00.000+00:002018-11-10T15:22:06.131+00:00Review: Spin + Knit 2017, a Spin-Off special issue
Although it's a year or two old now, I learned about this collection of patterns via Kate Larson's blog post about her visit to Shetland, which is a good read.
During that visit she bought a pack of Shetland wool in various shades, which she spun and made into the North Road hat, her own design. The hat is featured on the cover.
I don't generally buy pattern books but I have a few. Usually peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-53791675109800413562018-10-08T12:14:00.000+01:002018-10-08T12:14:16.764+01:00Twelve Months of Plant Dyes 2019 calendar
It has been two years since Fran's first calendar, Plant Dyes for All Seasons 2017. Each page showed a different dye and activities appropriate for that month.
It has taken Fran two years to prepare her second calendar, Twelve Months of Plant Dyes. It contains details for extracting and using particular plant dyes, along with ideas and advice for growing your own plants, harvesting and usingpeahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-64105586206073319912018-09-05T21:12:00.000+01:002018-09-05T21:12:45.819+01:00Finished project - Dragon Wing CowlThis is an image-heavy post, because I didn't post any pictures here of the fibre, the spinning or the knitting.
At Wonderwool earlier this year I picked up this batt from Louise of Spin City, and some beautifully fine merino tops from Andy at Wooltops, which I thought would all ply together nicely.
Not sure how to tackle the batt, I decided to pull off handfuls and spin from the fold (peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-21250711023446101742018-08-14T09:58:00.001+01:002018-08-14T12:40:44.845+01:00Review - Hand Spinning - Essential Technical and Creative Skills by Pam Austin
My first impression was that the book undersells itself. The cover certainly could be more eye-catching.
But it's a very well-produced book. 10.5" x 9", glossy, hard-covers with 144 pages and 200 illustrations.
It is aimed at the beginner, with some value for the intermediate spinner too.
Pam runs the Spinning School www.spinningschool.org; she gave me an impromptu lesson in longdraw peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-48026447970722996532018-07-29T11:58:00.001+01:002018-07-29T11:58:13.385+01:00Nudibranch socks in hand-dyed yarn
I think this is my first project in a very long while which uses commercial yarn. Having said that, it is hand-dyed, an indie collaboration between babylonglegs and riverknits in a colourway they called 'Shlurple' (yes the name helped me to make the decision to buy it).
I wanted a pattern with lace over the foot and up the leg. It had to be toe-up (so that I could divide the yarn in half and peahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387597887490861261.post-30490168329517090412018-05-17T16:24:00.003+01:002018-05-17T16:24:37.477+01:00Blanket from Zoom Loom squaresAs a spin-off (see what I did there?) from last year's Spinzilla, the Hand Spinning News team have been taking part in a 'treasure chest' game which will ultimately raise money for our chosen charity.
It worked a little like a 'pass the parcel' where one team-mate would provide / prepare the fibre, the next would spin it, the next dye it etc.
This particular yarn reached the 'make' stagepeahenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395503525006623752noreply@blogger.com0